During this video tutorial, we will show how to use various Audacity effects. Audacity includes many built-in effects offering a wide array of effects. You can amplify, invert, bass boost and much more!

A few years ago, sound editing software would cost you a bundle for these effects, but now you can use them for free!

Audacity Video Tutorial - Part 7 - Using Effects <- Click here

During this video tutorial, we will review Editing. We are going to inner cut some guitar and water effects and to create a really great track. Obviously, it’s easy to make mistakes when recording. In fact, when I create my podcast, the most time is spend editing.

You can listen to my podcast, The Simon Sez IT Tech Show:

Listen through iTunes
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Listen to the Simon Sez IT Tech Show

So, recording using Audacity is easy, editing is the tough part. Assuming of course you want a professional result. That said, the Audacity interface makes it easy to edit your tracks!

Audacity Video Tutorial - Part 6 <- Click here

Importing audio into your Audacity project is a great way to add some old fashion polish to your Audacity recordings and projects. For example, you may have a podcast which includes a professionally made introduction. You can easily import this file to create a new Audacity track. Importing audio is a great way to add sound effects, music, your previous recordings, and interviews (Skype would be great for this!).

During this Audacity video tutorial, we’ll show you how we imported a guitar loop using our original AIFF file. Next, we will import some audio from IDV. That will be a 2 step process which includes plugging in our camera first. We’ve used Windows Movie Maker for this example which demonstrates how flexible Audacity is when it comes to importing and using other file formats.

Audacity Video Tutorial - Part 5 <- Click here

The main reason why you’re checking out Audacity, and these Audacity tutorials, is so you can make an audio recording. Perhaps you’re going to use Audacity for your new podcast, or to interview someone. Regardless, the main reason why Audacity is popular is due its easy to use interface. I use it to make my bi-weekly podcast. I’ve considered other audio recording software, however, Audacity is very easy to use and any new user can make a recording within minutes.

Audacity Video Tutorial - Part 4 <- Click here

During this third Audacity video tutorial, we’ll discuss Audacity’s default sample rate of 44100Hz. The important thing to remember here is, if you are mixing in other sources of audio, you’ll want to have matching sample rates. So, when you are importing audio into audacity, you have to check the sample rate to make sure it matches here. And if none of the preselected ones here, you can click on other and enter any rate you would like.

The other sampling format discussed is Bit Processing. 32-bit float is actually twice the quality of standard CDs. But, it’s a good way to work. Generally, what we can do is, work at 32-bit quality and then export in 16 bits. Again, 32 bit is going to take twice as much as storage space as 16 bit. Well, that also depends on your computer space. 32 bit is recommended for higher quality.

Audacity Tutorial - Part 3 <- Click here

During this second Audacity video tutorial, we’ll navigate through the Audacity Control Panel. Learning the Audacity interface will make it easier to understand the various buttons and menus. I’ll show you the Audacity File Menu, View Menu, Project Menu (a great way to import media), and Generate Menu. Under the Effects Menu we have a wide range of very cool and different effects, Analyze Menu for analyzing the audio, and the Help Menu, if you have any questions about how to use Audacity.

Also shown are various Audacity interaface buttons or controls. For example, buttons are for Copy, Paste, Trimming and Silencing. The Silencing button is an often overlooked feature in Audacity and it’s very useful: if you have a pop or something, click on silencing to eliminate the pop.

Audacity Tutorial - Part 2 <- Click here

Welcome to the Audacity tutorial series, a 10 part Audacity tutorial guide. During this set of Audacity tutorials, we’ll commence with an introduction to Audacity, guide you through the Audacity interface, then walk you through on how to record and edit, and finish off with some cool Audacity tips and tricks including using Audacity effects.

So let’s get started! If you’re are new to Audacity, it’s a free audio recording software, often used to edit podcasts, music, and much more. During this first Audacity video tutorial, will show you were to get the software and how to install it.

Audacity Tutorial - Part 1 <- Click here

Using add-ons allow you to customize Firefox to meet your needs or personalized style. Free feel free to browse the thousands of available free add-ons https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/. We have compiled a list of ten of our favorites (in no particular order) which was no easy task!

WebMail Notifier
WebMail Notifier checks your email when used with various webmail accounts (Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc) and notifies the number of unread emails. This can be a real time saver, especially for those of us with multiple email accounts.
https://add-ons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/add-on/4490

IE Tab
In an ideal world, websites and features would be the same in all browsers. IE Tab is useful to open the current webpage in the IE Tab, which simulates viewing a page in Internet Explorer.
https://add-ons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/add-on/1419

Tree Style Tab
Firefox popularized tab style browsing, that is, the ability to have multiple brower windows open at the same time. Having multiple tabs open can be a real time saver, and using Tree Style Tab can be surprisingly productive. Tree Style Tab allows you to use vertical tabs instead of horizontal tabs. A real time saver with some nifty features!
https://add-ons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/add-on/5890

Adblock Plus
One of the most popular Firefox add-ons and it’s easy to understand why. Adblock Plus blocks website ads and banners. This will result in faster downloads since and page refresh since those annoying ads will not appear. Nice!
https://add-ons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/add-on/1865

Xmarks
This add-on allows you to sync your bookmarks across multiple browsers. With many homes using multiple computers, and many of using computers at work, we easily have bookmarks saved in multiple locations. Now you can sync all of your bookmarks!
https://add-ons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/add-on/2410

NoScript
If there was only one security add-on I would recommend, this is it. Active scripts from websites are used by the “bad guys”. Using NoScript, you can specify which sites to trusts and allow to run active content. Active content is often needed to ensure complete website functionality, but why not decide which websites to trust!?
https://add-ons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/add-on/722

iMacros
We love to replace repetitious work. For web browser intensive users, this can be a real time saver. Use iMacro to automate repetitive tasks and make your life easier. Use it to complete web forms, launch your popular sites and remember passwords. This takes some time to learn, but well worth it.
https://add-ons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/add-on/3863

AutoPager
Speed up your browsing with this nifty add-on. AutoPage will automatically load the next page of site. This will save from having to manually navigate to the next page. Simple and brilliant!
https://add-ons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/add-on/4925

Tab Mix Plus
If you love using tabs, then you’ll Tab Mix Plus. This add-on will enhance your tabbed browsing experience by including additional features including features when you click on a tab, duplicating a tab and a lot more.
https://add-ons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/add-on/1122

Personas
No productivity gains with this add-on, but it is a fun and easy way to add a new look and feel to Firefox. Using Persona, you can add a new “skin” or design to personalize the way Firefox appears. Sheer indulgence!
https://add-ons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/add-on/10900

Everyone is jumping on the Twitter bandwagon these days. I’m jumping off. I was late jumping on since I thought it was a passing fad with limited amount of use for my business. In the past 2 months, Twitter is in the news daily. Lots of interesting stories about how “so and so now ‘tweets’”, and how a Taco truck in Los Angeles has created a frenzy using Twitter. So, I jumped on the bandwagon to see what I was missing. Now I can say “Been there, done that”.

So why do I find Twitter of minimal value? Every day, you and I are bombarded with emails (business and personal), Facebook requests, RSS updates, podcast updates - you name it. And let’s be honest, we only have so much time in a day to dedicate to work and family. Twitter is just another piece of technology vying for our attention. It dawned on me how useless Twitter was when I was subjected to hundreds of Twitter updates offering no interesting or compelling story or value. One individual was head of social media for a large software company. Do I really care how she is spending her weekend, evening, or what she is eating for dinner. NO! Or how about a podcast directory website that constantly lists each new podcast listed! Then there is the Vegas specialty sites competing with each other to blast the world with headline news from Vegas. Useless for me, and likely for most people.

I know, I know, call me a ranter. My point here is that Twitter offers minimal value. Are there people or businesses using Twitter successfully with compelling stories. You bet. But don’t be fooled because a Taco truck in Los Angeles has 10,000 followers. Like any other marketing success, Twitter offers value to only a small niche of the population. That’s why I will discontinue using Twitter, not read new Tweets, and continue to focus my marketing efforts elsewhere.

Is Twitter a passing fad or here to stay? Let me know what you think.

-Simon

In my previous article, I discussed how to calculate how much it is costing both you and your company leaving your computers powered on. I also showed you how to calculate potential savings by reducing the amount of time the computer is powered on. But leaving an organization’s computers powered off creates a quandary for I.T. staff. What about the need to remote to that computer to install software? What about the need to push out important patches and updates?

Well, one option is to purchase a utility that uses the Wake on LAN feature to automatically start the computers at a pre-scheduled time. Those of you not familiar with Wake on LAN, it uses a special network packet, the Magic packet, to send a signal to your Magic packet compliant network card. When the network card receives this packet, it automatically powers on the computer. Sounds great, doesn’t it? Well, you may discover that pushing out a Magic packet through versus subnets may not work according to plan. And, there is the cost of the software to do this. I’ve tried some free products but they were manual start ups one computer at a time, and not viable for a complex network.

How about poor man’s Wake on LAN? Most modern BIOS have the ability to schedule an auto start. So, you could actually configure the motherboard BIOS to do this for you. For example, Lenovo which is the brand I am most familiar with has an auto start feature. For Lenovo PCs, you get to the BIOS by pressing F1 when the computer starts (POST). Each computer manufacturer has a different startup sequence to get to the BIOS, so watch closely when your computer starts. Some manufactures include the ability to push out BIOS updates across the network. We manually configured nearly 500 computers to auto start each morning at 7:00 a.m. before staff arrive. This offers some advantages: 1) I.T. staff can continue to push out Windows patches throughout the night (we use WSUS). 2) Staff can immediately login when they arrive. This may not sound like a big advantage, but have you noticed how impatient you users are waiting 5 minutes for a 5 year old XP machine to start!?

There may be exceptions - for example, staff working from home or other remote workers. Some VPN manufacturers include the ability to use a Magic packet during a VPN connection - I’ve tested this with mixed results.

There you have it - an easy to save your company money by instructing employees to turnoff their computers each night, and auto starting the PC without requiring Wake on LAN.